Sharing your Netflix password with friends and family is a pretty common experience, especially if you have a plan that lets you play content on multiple devices without being in one place. However, doing so isn’t ideal business for the online giant, who are apparently starting to crack down on the practice.
According to reports, some viewers are now getting messages that check whether they’re using their own accounts or not. What this means is that when someone logs into Netflix, they receive a message asking if they live with the person who pays the bill, and to enter a confirmation code sent by email or text. If that’s not possible, an option then becomes available to set up a new profile. This warning currently seems to only be affecting anyone watching on a television so far, and does not include situations where you’re all under one roof.
A representative from the service had this to say about the new test:
“This test is designed to help ensure that people using Netflix accounts are authorized to do so.”
Of course, this approach isn’t new, but is becoming increasingly stricter for the big streamers wherein letting others use your password stretches the definition of a ‘household.’ Technically, the only restrictions that you’d face with abusing the same login would be if you had just paid for one simultaneous stream, so if rolled out, this measure would have a significant impact on how easy it’ll be to piggyback on an existing subscription.
We’re not surprised by the move, either, as a recent report showed that 52.5% of Netflix users have given out their sign-in details at one point or another. How quickly this new verification will be adopted will likely depend on where you’re based in the world, though, and on what technology you watch on, similar to other new additions that the platform have trialled in the past. In addition, this type of system isn’t foolproof, so we’d imagine that, while it may reduce the number of people breaking the user agreement, it won’t stamp out the trend altogether.